Sick Fizz discuss gear, instincts, and shared history

Transmission 227: Interview with Sick Fizz

Sick Fizz is a rock band from Sydney formed by Fox Trotsky (vocals, guitar), Faff (bass), and Javu (drums), all of whom have been active in long-running underground groups such as Nancy Vandal, The Neptune Power Federation, and The City Lights. The idea for the band began with a painting of a three-piece rock group made up of grotesque, Ed Roth-style mutant figures. It later became a vehicle for songs that did not fit the heavier style of previous projects. Their sound draws on garage punk, early glam rock, and raw rhythm-and-boogie structures.

Title: Takin’ Care of Fizzness
Artist: Sick Fizz
Release Date: 2024-01-26
Genres: Garage Rock, Hard Rock
Description: Interview with Sick Fizz on their origins, past bands, fuzz pedals, mutant imagery, and the Sydney underground rock geography.

Sick Fizz builds its music around short, direct structures, drawing on garage punk, early glam, and pub rock. Their debut album, We Fucked This City On Rock & Roll, was released in February 2023, followed by The Future Is The Pits on 26 January 2024. Their third album, Takin’ Care of Fizzness, is scheduled for release on 25 July 2025.

What inspired the formation of Sick Fizz, and how did the band’s concept come together?

With me music and art usually go hand in hand and I can specifically pinpoint a painting I did about 10 years ago which was off this 3 piece rock band where all the players were kind of beastly looking Ed Roth type figures. There were 2 guys and 1 girl and in retrospect it was this image that planted the seed for Sick Fizz. I remember thinking at the time – I know exactly how this band would sound and eventually the image came alive!

How did your previous musical projects influence the direction and style of Sick Fizz?

I have been writing music and performing in another band called the Neptune Power Federation for over 10 years (It is more a heavy psych / retro hard rock band) and had this pile of songs that weren’t quite right for it but I really liked. So Sick Fizz kind of forced itself into existence that way – I needed a vehicle for these lost songs and with the hazy idea I had mentioned above, it became obvious what I must do.

What challenges did you encounter during the early days of the band?

It was pretty easy really – I have known Faff (bass) and Javu (drums) for many years and new how good they were on their instruments and more importantly knew they were relaxed, cool people. I think if you can enjoy people’s company you can be in a band with them no problem.

How would you describe the atmosphere of the Sydney underground rock scene when Sick Fizz was emerging?

Australia has an extremely fertile underground rock scene and of course a rich history of magical sounds being created in pubs across the country. Sydney is pretty good though we can’t top Melbourne in terms of output. I am constantly amazed at how many great bands are appearing all the time from that city. 

Are there specific instruments or equipment that are integral to your sound?

Personally I have settled on a Gretsch guitar through a Vox amp after a bit of trial and error. The Gretsch has a great bigsby tremolo I can attack like a neanderthal without putting the guitar out of tune. I use a New Zealand made Hotcake overdrive to get everything humming and feeding back nicely. Faff’s key component is a big muff fuzz pedal while Javu will use any drums as long as it doesn’t fall under the category of “student” kit.

How did the writing process for Takin’ Care of Fizzness begin—was it planned, or did it fall together in pieces?

I usually write the songs in quick succession when the creative hypnosis takes hold. I demo them at home and then send them to the band. We actually set ourselves the test of playing all the songs live at a show before the album came out, which we haven’t done in the past. It went down pretty well which was encouraging. If everyone hated it I guess we would have to start again!

Were there recurring subjects or frustrations that ended up defining this record?

I tend to bounce about a bit subject wise though I think the image from the cover of the rioting cartoon creatures is a bit of an ongoing idea I associate with the band.

Were there albums or bands you were fixated on—or sick of hearing—while working on this one?

I tend to listen to a lot of music to get inspired to write as well as just as a fan. I’d say the following were on high rotation over the past year…

Pleasants – RocanRol In Mono
Ming City Rockers – Clementine
The Unknowns – East Coast Low
Alien NoseJob – Turns The Colour Of Bad Shit
Hans Condor – Big Breakfast
Moron’s Morons – High Tension Situation

How did the process of recording this one compare to your previous album?

It was pretty similar actually – same recording studio and I mixed it here at home. I’m a pretty naive mixer but I’m always trying to learn new stuff, I think if you really concentrate you could hear me improve by about 4% from the last record. At the end of the day though I don’t sweat the detail that much – we sound the way we sound!

Photos courtesy of Sick Fizz

Matteo Damiani

Matteo Damiani is an Italian photographer and author. Curator of the sites Retrofuturista.com; weirditaly.com; china-underground.com and others